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Russian national sentenced in Finland for allegedly violating EU travel ban

According to earlier reports, Vojislav Torden is banned from entering the Schengen zone by Norway and the Czech Republic

HELSINKI, February 13. /TASS/. A court in Finland has sentenced Russian national Vojislav Torden, who was detained in Finland in late July at the request of Ukraine, where he is suspected of committing war crimes, to 40 days in prison for violating the ban on entry to the European Union, his lawyer Natalia Malgina told TASS.

"A Kymenlaakso court found Vojislav Torden guilty of deliberately violating the ban on entering Schengen countries and was conditionally sentenced to 40 days in jail <…>. The defense objects to both the verdict and the punishment and has already said that it would challenge this ruling," she said.

According to earlier reports, Torden is banned from entering the Schengen zone by Norway and the Czech Republic.

Finland’s Central Criminal Police earlier demanded Torden be arrested for military crimes he committed in Ukraine. On December 8, Finland’s Supreme Court refused to extradite Torden to Ukraine and ruled to release him immediately. However, the man was detained by Finnish border guards immediately after his release.

Russian national Vojislav Torden, 36, formerly known as Jan Petrovsky, has been blacklisted by both the European Union and the United States. Ukraine accuses him of committing crimes in Donbass in 2014 and 2015 and is seeking his extradition. He was detained at the Helsinki airport on July 20 and placed in custody for violating immigration laws by a Finnish court the following day.

The Russian embassy in Finland told TASS earlier that Russian diplomats were keeping a close eye on the situation and were ready to continue defending Torden’s rights.

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